How does the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive line unit compare to the rest of the NFL entering the 2025 season?

Zoltan Buday of Pro Football Focus recently ranked each defensive line unit ahead of the upcoming year, and for the Colts, they came in at No. 17 on this list.

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“There is a case to be made that the Colts have the best interior defender duo in the league. Although both are over 31 years old, Grover Stewart (76.0 PFF overall grade) and DeForest Buckner (81.9 PFF overall grade) were among the 15 highest-graded interior defenders last season. Former first-round edge defenders Kwity Paye and Laiatu Latu will need to step up in 2025 to vault this unit up the rankings.”

I mean, there is a lot to like about this group–one that GM Chris Ballard has invested heavily in throughout the years, both in salary cap space and in draft capital.

As mentioned, DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart form a very high-end duo along the interior, while the defensive end rotation is deep and this season includes second-round pick JT Tuimoloau–who was a three-down presence at Ohio State–and Samson Ebukam, who missed all of 2024 with an Achilles injury.

If there is an unknown with this unit, it comes with the defensive tackle depth, where the Colts very much need more production behind Buckner and Stewart. To hopefully accomplish that, Ballard has made some new additions, which includes signing Neville Gallimore and drafting Tim Smith.

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With that said, the Colts do need more production from this group as a whole in 2025. Last season, the Colts ranked in the bottom third of the NFL in both pressures and sacks.

Those stats, however, don’t directly reflect the play of the defensive line unit. Not helping things was the Colts’ secondary getting picked apart in the quick passing game, which made getting to the quarterback difficult when the ball was out of his hands so quickly.

Lou Anarumo’s more aggressive and disguise-heavy defensive scheme should eliminate those opportunities for offenses, not to mention that we will see more movement upfront to create mismatches and more blitzing as well to cause some added chaos.

This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: 2025 NFL season: Where does Colts’ defensive line unit rank?